Timothy Hutton has a new gig on TNT. Just saw the the preair episode and loved it. Got a lot BBC's Hustle in it (guess that is why I like it). The cast was good and although some of the back stories were out there, it was a fun ride. I am a sucker for cons and high-tech toys so I hope it lives up to the pilot.

Love the title of the thread. It's exactly what I was thinking. I went into this one blind, not even knowing where it would air, but immediately guessed it was a TNT show. It definitely has their stamp. It reminded me a bit of Smith too with more of the tone of Hustle. I'm afraid the fun heist stuff won't mesh very well with the dead kid story, those were the only parts that didn't really work for me. Love Parker though. Too much of her might be annoying, but I thought she was cute with her toys.

I don't know why this bugs me so much, but Christian Kane has got to cut his hair. Just can't stand it.

There is such a madness to Parker that I have to love her. During the warehouse scene, she was the only one I was truly scared of, as was Nate. Although Spencer had proven himself to be a damn good retrieval specialists, I have no fear Parker could take him. The show provides enough comedic juice, especially Hardison, to offset the seriousness of Nate's dead son. This is one fall show I am definitely looking forward to.

Am I the only one who thought this was the shittest script in a long time?

Yeah, the production values are respectable and the acting averages up to quite good but, wow... it just felt like every other turn I'd turn to my invisible friend and go of course that's what happened.

When the show started of I was impressed that they jumped straight into the story with no delay, like "here are the basics - go!" I liked that. But then plot point after plot point it just started disappointing me repeatedly.

Like, of course he has a dead kid, and of course "he's not a thief" and of course they trust him, and of course Parker blew up her parents and of course Elliot can take out a bar-full of armed goons and four security guards before Alec's bag hits the ground! And naturally that's exactly how the FBI would treat a suspect... let him have a stroll! Of fucking course!

Gah! Sorry to be so agressive. I usually shy away from being so outwardly negative about a show. I try to look for the saving graces but here... Though things did improve once Gina Bellman showed up, I don't think either she, Hutton or Kane can save Leverage for me - especially with the latter's haircut.

And what's with Beth Riesgraf? She seems a lovely woman and, while I've seen her on My Name Is Earl and How I Met Your Mother and thought she was fine acting wise, watching this pilot I felt like a haven't heard line readings that off in long time. Bad direction? Bad fit for the role? Something's off.

Though really, are there many actors out there who could save dialogue this cliched and corny? Plus, for me, the "comic" elements of the script like the various flashbacks just seemed ridiculous rather than funny - bringing down the verisimilitude without furthering the enjoyment.

Poor Leverage... trying to be Hustle and failing so spectacularly.

My husband asked me to watch this the other night. He watched it after it was recommended by a friend.

To me, it felt like a pilot from ten years ago, or perhaps something you'd watch on a no-name cable channel on a Sunday afternoon. I didn't think it was terrible, but I don't have any desire to watch any more episodes. On the other hand, my husband loved it. So, it could find a fanbase, though I don't think I'll be one of them.

I'll totally agree that the plot was predictable and the actors certainly deserve better dialogue. The cast is the main draw. They had a rapport that felt less like the cast of a pilot and more like one with a season worth of working together. I liked the flashbacks though Parker's felt a little odd. Everyone else's seemed to highlight what they did best and Parker didn't seem to have anything to do with explosives aside from her flashback. I really wish we'd gotten a chance to see a young Parker rigging a harness or something.

I actually really enjoyed this one. Suspension of disbelief and some elements of predictability are a given with any kind of heisty/spy show, but I thought the cast was awesome and I laughed quite a bit, was entertained fully throughout. I was most impressed by the kid who played Voodoo from Friday Night Lights, because he was pretty damn funny in this. I'm looking forward to it in the fall.

I rather liked the pilot for Leverage. Which fits with the love it or hate it vibe I have found in other reviews. Though so far TNT hasn't got a good followup to The Closer and Saving Grace.

Loved it. I watched it three times, and I plan to watch it again and again. And maybe again.

Leverage has an official release time:2010?! I was hoping for 2009. Maybe it will get bumped up. Really liked the cast

Try Dec 08.

This struck me as odd about her flashback as well, but at least it sort of helped characterize her as being batshit crazy, which was kind of awesome.

The one thing that happened that didn't work for me was when they were all sitting around discussing how to get revenge, when Parker was eating the popcorn. At one point Parker let out this high-pitched laugh...thing, and everyone looked at her, and then kept talking. I didn't get the reference, or if it was supposed to be funny, or what she was "laughing" at? It was just a very odd little touch but I didn't find it amusing, more confusing than anything. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

I think it was just supposed to show how she is, indeed, batshit crazy. That's what I got out of that.

Hey, she did name her son Pilot Inspektor. I think it's earned.

I loved this pilot. Yeah, it was predictable, but it was also a lot of fun. I actually would have expected to see something like this on USA and not on TNT so I'm a little surprised. For those of you who have never seen Hustle, this is EXACTLY like Hustle. In fact, I hope they're paying the Hustle creators royalties.

My only problems were with the actress playing Parker who was horrible. I can think of five actresses off the top of my head who could do better. Ok, so one of them is Summer Glau who's already doing a show, but still.

My other problem is Kane's hair. He's a really attractive guy (see: Angel) but that haircut has got to go. It makes him look like a hippie and with his whole badass persona going on, its kind of ridiculous. Otherwise, liked everyone else, and the chemistry was fantastic. I laughed out loud a couple of times and I could believe them as a team. Nicely done and can't wait for the show to air!

My wife and I both enjoyed this a lot. Yes, it's a LOT like Hustle, but we really enjoy Hustle as well. (Through series 3, anyway).

Great to see Christian Kane and Gina Bellman on our screen again. I think I realized that Gina could act when I saw her in Jekyll but she was utterly delightful in this.

When Parker was pretending to be the tech support operator, was that a shout-out to I.T. Crowd? Specifically when she asked "Did you try turning it on and off again?"

Yes, it's pretty formula but it's also fun, light entertainment.

I really liked this show, though if it becomes purely a series of heists week to week it might get boring for me, and so I'm not sure if it's something I'd watch regularly. Would definitely give it a shot.

One thing I don't get, and hopefully the more financially literate of you can explain it to me, is how they ended up making money off the heist. How exactly do you make money off the fact the stock has dropped?

workworkwork: That's a pretty standard tech support question. Doubt it's a shout-out.

The previews look made from the guys who do the 'Burn Notice' ones. I got that feeling a lot more than the BBC's 'Hustle'.

They seem to be more like the drama series based on 'teams of thieves' that cratered back in 2006 all over network and cable (the awesome 'Thief', stupid 'Heist' and the very slow 'Smith')

When you "short" a stock, you count on it losing money instead of gaining. Very topical nowadays. The bad publicity caused the stock to tank which is what they predicted. They shorted aerodyne when the price was at $130. When the FBI raided the company and it was on all the cable news shows, the stock dropped to $30 a share. Net gain of $100 a share. 10000 shares gives you one million and then he worked some overseas magic. Age of the Geek!!

Thanks rage6839. All I know about the stock market I learned from Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd in Trading Places: 'Buy low, sell high.' So shorting of stock didn't fit in there.

Do we know when this show is getting on the air? Early next year? I hope they give it a good lead-in like Saving Grace or the Closer.

To be honest, I wish the show was on USA-- I really think it would fit in perfectly with their line-up of Burn Notice, Psych and Monk. I mean, TNT's tagline is 'We know drama.' Problem is, if this show takes itself too seriously, it will be a disaster. I just don't see where such a light, fun show is going to fit in to the TNT schedule.

I think it's starting on Dec 1st.

Just watched the pilot and really enjoyed it.

Watching TNT this morning, an ad said it would be premiering Sunday, 12/7 at 10 PM.

Just saw the pilot and I really, really liked it. I was very surprised at how well the cast gelled. Of course, my favourite was Parker because she's batshit crazy and she made a harness joke, but truly there wasn't a bad one in the bunch (excepting the main guest star, who sets my teeth on edge on a good day). The only thing I'd recommend is making the tone a bit more 10:00-ish (rather than 9-ish). I'll be watching come December.

Not original, but fun. I think I'll enjoy seeing amusing people stick it to corporations once a week. I really liked how,at the same time one of the crew's female members was off vamping the target, Christian Kane was playing Buff Geek on the cute secretary. They had nice chemistry.

It felt a little dour compared to Hustle, though; seemed like they had to hammer in how good and pure the lead was for the American audience in a rather unpleasantly blunt way. 'Twas a bit of a drag. I'd have preferred it if they referenced his grief as character motivation it less often and less obviously.

On the positive front, I liked that this show has two women in it, one femme and one more tomboyish, instead of the single femme chick of Hustle. And a Geek of Color! Coolness.

Just watched Leverage. If they keep up the twistiness and humor, I think this will be a pleasant diversion every week.

I like crazy Parker, she might prove to be my favorite.

I did like this; I'll certainly be tuning in next time.

I didn't catch the beginning, but I'm hoping that TNT plays it again.

I really liked that latter part of the episode that I did catch....I'll be watching the show again too. I liked the ending where they all split apart and then instantly wanted to still work together again.

I rather enjoyed this. Yes, it's a clone of Hustle, but since Hustle is seemingly off the air (or at least it appears there will never be another season with the entire cast intact), I like having something to compensate for the lack of supercool con artists in my life.

This did suffer heavily from pilot syndrome though. Waaaaaaaay too much talking about everyone's main characteristics. Specifically with crazygirl, who was clearly batshit and so I didn't need someone saying she was batshit every five seconds, Timothy Hutton's character (again, Hutton is a capable actor and we can see the character's grief over the his son without being told very much about it), and the attraction between Hutton's and Gina Bellman's characters. Gee, do you think they have a history?

Still, plenty to enjoy so I'll will gladly watch more of them. The fun of a show like this, the same as with Hustle, is that you know there's going to be some twist at the end with exactly how they con the mark, but you don't (or at least I usually don't) know exactly what it'll be.

Great series opener. I originally tuned in because I'm a Timothy Hutton fan (and because of Lindsey from Angel) but the entire cast has such great chemistry that it felt like they have been working together for years. The computer guy's one-liners were funny. He's good comic relief w/o being over-the-top. Crazy Parker is fun to watch.

I look forward to Tuesday's episode.

Saw the Nigerian Scam episode. Loved it. Nice mix of characters who are all smart, so far.

Corporations = bad guys. Regular people being aided by alternative revenue streams, instead of connected up fat cats. Subversive and entertaining. What's not to like?

This kind of show is right up my alley. Hope it makes it for the long run.

I enjoyed this show pretty darn much. Con artists sticking it to greedy, evil people who deserve it? That's made of win. It doesn't hurt that I really adore all the characters. That little girl stealing her teddy bear back and blowing up the house was priceless, in a twisted sort of way. This show could be lots of fun.

I really liked it, too. The idea of sticking it to corporate assholes is something I can get behind 110%, despite the problems with suspension of disbelief. I have a soft spot for Hutton, ever since the underrated Q&A, and the rest of the cast seemed interesting, especially the computer guy, who told the other guy they have to have a talk about the Klingons!! I loved that part.

It's always fun to watch people who are supposed to be the cleverest at what they do.

I liked this a lot, except for the part about it reminding me of Eyes so now I'm pissed off all over again over Eyes being cancelled. Parker is batshit and I love her. Hope they keep her that way.

The show has a lot of potential and I admit it did have it's glaring faults to me. The acting and delivery were my issues, but I'm attributing this to TV SHOW PILOT syndrome, everyone's finding their places and their comfort zones with the characters so everything doesn't always work. I'd like a bit more depth with the characters rather then as someone said just presenting their characteristics on parade, that makes them seem less like characters and more like characteristics if you can understand what I mean.

Still I'm willing to tune in, I hope it finds a balance because I've been waiting for a show with a thief angle to balance out the police dramas that are cluttering up my TV. I love police drama's but they're choking my ass to death.

I know. I still miss Eyes.

Some comments from a Zap2it review:



Mark Sheppard from Firefly and BSG! I LOVE him. I am thrilled about this.

Yes to everything about Eyes and being miserable all over again. Damnit.

Otherwise I will watch until I'm bored.

I enjoyed this show, and there's nothing else on Tuesday nights, so I'm probably going to be watching - the only thing is, I remember as a young girl in the '70's, watching Jim Hutton on 'Ellery Queen', and thinking he was hot, and now here I am watching his SON, and thinking HE'S hot - which not only makes me feel old, but kinda pervy - *sigh* - I think I need to go to bed now...

Word. And yeah this did remind me of that show quite a bit. I enjoyed it mostly because I like Timothy Hutton. I kept wondering where I'd seen the actress who plays Sophie and then it hit me: Jekyll. She was very good in that, so I look forward to her here too.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. And I thought I would. I'll definitely keep watching, and since it's on tues., I can just watch NCIS then The Mentalist, and then Leverage. Since I only watch 2 shows a week at the mo.

My only problems were with the acting, particularly the females.

But, still a good show, and Timothy Hutton as expected was great.

Did anyone else get a bizarre mailer on this? I got a postcard-sized envelope in the mail for this show, including a flash drive with pilot on it.

It was really weird.

I never saw Eyes or hustle, but I'm glad to see a series that explores the other side of the law. Personally I find bad guys fascinating. I remember the dearly departed Smith from a couple of years ago with Jonny Lee Miller and Ray Liotta, and I sorely wished that series had lasted.

It however had a couple of things going against it.

1) it was on police procedural galore CBS

2) the show wanted us to cheer for bad guys who are actually bad.

3) it was also very, very dark and serious.

This series should hit the right note. It has a great cast and interesting characters. Has the right balance of humor and drama (a la Burn Notice), and the characters are morally ambiguous and likable enough, that middle america shouldn't feel too bad about rooting for them. Also, who wouldn't want to see a series about a bunch of underdogs screwing "the man"?

Watched the show last night. It left me a little underwhelmed. The show is more like a TV version of Ocean's Eleven but not in a good way.

That blonde chick, whoever the hell she is, cannot act.

Timothy Hutton has not aged well.

I guess maybe because I am an FX fan (I already miss The Shield) but where was the cursing, the violence and the nudity? You mean to tell me that they could not get the hot guy (yummy!) to show a little skin? I mean this is cable so they can do that kinda shit, right? I will tune in again this Tuesday only b/c my beloved Shield is gone and no longer airs at that time.

ETA:



I did. Maybe because I am an EW subscriber? I did not know what to do with the thing. They could not send me a DVD?

I'm on board. Well, at least 'til they cancel it, or I step my CATV subscription down a notch and lose the channnel.

I got one too and am a EW subscriber. I liked the flash drive it was different and re-usable, since I had already seen the episode months ago (the joys of the internet) and was not a fan I deleted the show off of it and now have a new 1GB flash drive.

Ah, add me to the list that thought for a pilot, not bad, I'll definitely take it as light diversion on Tuesday nights. The only other show I watch on Tuesdays is The Mentalist, so good fit with it, I think. I tuned in for Timothy Hutton and Christian Kane, but thought the others were very good as well. The plot had a few holes that had me rolling my eyes, (took waaaaayyyy too long with the "stall the bad guy while we rappel screaming girl down the elevator shaft") but I liked the twists with the scam at the end, and the dawning horror for Saul Rubenik's character. And the expressions on the faces of the three newbies when they were watching the dreadful play with Hutton was pure gold! I laughed out loud!

Have I mentioned how fine Christian Kane remains? I can even forgive the god-awful hair, just to see him again. And Timothy Hutton? I would watch him in just about anything.

I have hopes for this series, I give the pilot a solid B.

I enjoyed the show a lot, even with the plot holes and excessive exposition. The pilots of most series suffer from the same problem, especially the excessive exposition, because they are trying to set up the characters and make you care about them (or at least be intrigued by them). Like I said, though, even with the problems, I found the pilot very entertaining (much more so than TNT's other "new" show of 2008, the overly-melodramatic and overwrought Raising the Bar) and I think I'll enjoy the show quite a bit.

I don't recognize the other main actors, but I've loved Timothy Hutton since his stint as Archie Goodwin on Nero Wolfe and I was a very big fan of Christian Kane as Lindsey on Angel. (I agree with others that said Christian needs a haircut, though, because you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that looks good with a shapeless mass hanging limply around his/her face.) I thought there was good chemistry between the characters, though, and I enjoyed the humor. I just wish that they hadn't revealed the bad guy knowing about the transmitter with the blinking light under his desk, though. They were trying to ratchet up the dramatic tension by fooling us into thinking the team was about to get caught and, instead, ending up doing just the opposite. As soon as he started talking to his underling about how he knew all along, I knew that the scam wasn't what we were seeing on the screen and there was going to be a twist. I think it would have been a better choice for him to go, "Ah hah! Did you think I was an idiot?? I found your transmitter and, here, meet my friends at the FBI!" at the meeting, cut to commercial, and then do the big "the Nigerians are really Nigerians" at that point. (Yes, I know the pilot was shown commercial-free, but it won't be in the future.) That said, I enjoyed myself, over all, and I'll be watching it after The Mentalist on Tuesday nights.

I liked it a lot too. I watch nothing on Tuesday nights except SVU, so this will be a welcome addition.

I'm intrigued by the TH/Gina Bellman pairing and the computer guy/Parker "friends with benefits" storyline and the dude who's the muscle? Hawt.

Oh god(dess), I just thought of something! Every show I've ever seen Christian Kane in, he dies! He died in Angel (albeit in the final episode, but I never forgave them for that!), he died in the Tom Selleck/tv movie I saw him in, he died in Close to Home. Please, PTB, don't kill off Elliot!

I'm one of his biggest fans and he's the reason I even heard about this show (Mark is appearing in five episodes). Once I heard of the show though it sounded interesting and I wanted to watch it with or w/o Mark. I enjoyed the pilot quite alot.

LA Times backstage photos from the set of Leverage